Eye openers
by NotQuiteBerserk
Summary: Arthur really needs to find out about Merlin's secret so here will be 5 different reveal scenes. Some may be more plausible than others. A mix of humour and more serious ones. NO slash. Rated Kplus  because of one or two bad words and 'cos I'm paranoid.
1. Prior Knowledge

**So lots of people do reveal fics, but it's the actual moment of revelation that's fun, so here will be five separate possibilities of how exactly Arthur finds out about Merlin's little secret (I'm planning to upload one a day for this week and this week only). Some more plausible than others I'll admit but it's my imagination I can do what I like with it :-P.**

**By the way, if any of these bare similarities to stories already written I am so sorry, I try to make my writing original but sometimes an idea will lodge itself in my subconscious and I have no idea where it came from. If I have plagiarised anybody's work please let me know and I will take it down ASAP.**

**Disclaimer: However much I might want to I do not own Merlin**

**Well now my conscience is clear let us begin**

It was late summer and the midday sun beat down on the great stone walls of Camelot with a relentless heat that forced every citizen to give up their daily work in favour of more restful pursuits. Well… almost every citizen.

In a disused and dusty chamber a young, dark haired manservant was pacing, long strides covering the entire length of the room in seconds before he was forced to turn around by an irritatingly placed item of furniture, or wall. And despite being entirely alone he was muttering. Perhaps he was finally showing the signs of madness those closest to him were certain he possessed.

A listener may have heard something along these lines:

"Arthur, I know you may think this is highly unlikely but – no. Arthur before I start I want you to promise not to have me arrested – no he won't go for that. Err… Your Highness I feel it is my duty to inform you that – he'll think I'm joking. What about: I'm a warlock! I'm a warlock! – nope, that way execution lies. Maybe if I just – Arthur!"

For at that instant the subject of his ramblings happened to walk through the door, the prince was not amused. "Do you think that this is funny?"

"I don't understand" was the reply of the dazed dragon lord.

"I told you to get my armour ready for the training session today and guess what?" Merlin thought it was probably safer to remain mute "Not only can I not find a single piece of my armour, I have had to search the castle for two hours to find the fool who was supposed to do that for me!"

"But I put it on your bed sire." It was true, but that answer would do nothing to ease Arthur's mood.

The prince relaxed visibly. _Or maybe not,_ thought Merlin. "I know I found it ages ago." He glance around at the dusty old room for the first time "What are you doing here?"

"I was thinking-"

"Don't strain yourself"

Ignoring Arthur's interruption Merlin continued "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time now-"

"If it's that your secretly the most powerful warlock in all of Albion and have been lying about your true identity for over three years now, I've known for a while now."

Merlin just gaped dumbstruck, that was not the answer he was expecting. "How – How did you know?" he managed to stutter after about a minute of a rather good goldfish impression.

"It's kind of obvious, I mean you must think I'm a real idiot if you thought you got away with practicing magic right under my nose."

"Well…"

"That was _not _a question Merlin"

"So you're not going to tell-"

"No"

"Or have me-"

"No"

"Oh"

"I might find it good blackmail material at certain intervals though"

_Damn._

**So whadaya think? Please feel free to point out any errors, not that they'll be corrected anytime soon, it's just nice to know. What do you recommend for the next one, something more serious? Or should I stick with the humour (yes it was meant to be humour) for now? (BTW theses have already been written, I would **_**never**_** promise regular updates if they hadn't been, I'm just still deciding on the order I place them in)**


	2. Outside influence

**Ok I couldn't decide whether to publish a serious or funny one next so I picked the one that was first in the file list. I think it was meant to be serious but I can't remember now.**

**Ok usually I would reply to reviews via the link in the email but there seems to be a massive gap between a review being submitted and an email being sent, so massive in fact that I have only received on email since I uploaded the first reveal and that was for a chapter update two days ago. Is anyone else having this problem?**

**In the meantime I'll post replies here:**

_**Aloha94:**_ You're my first review for this series, have a cookie on me. Really glad you liked it XD. I had originally planned to alternate but wanted to get the opinion of the readers, glad we think alike.

_**FreakShowonLegs: **_I don't think I've ever been quoted before so thank you so much for that. I'm 70% sure that this one was supposed to be serious and I updated within a day as promised. =D

_**writing-at-random:**_ I'm a genius? If only someone would tell my teachers that…

_**Heather2910:**_ thank you so pleased you enjoyed it.

_**Hahahahahaha:**_ Argh no not another stalker! Here's an update you can put the long brown coat away.

_**cooking-ninja18:**_ glad you liked it

_**asdf: **_I know, I said that some would be more plausible than others.

_**Jissai:**_ thanks XD.

_**FireChildSlytherin5:**_ Thanks, hope you enjoy the rest.

_**Chavva:**_ some of these will be serious but if its any consolation I don't think that they get overly angsty, every time I try and cut the humour out it still finds a way to creep back in.

**Disclaimer: I had the rights to Merlin but then I lost it down the back of my sofa, and no one dares go behind the back of my sofa, so it's best to say I own nothing for now.**

The court room of Uther Pendragon was slowly starting to empty. Once a month every peasant who believed they had a grievance severe enough to bring it before the king pushed, blagged and sometimes downright fought their way into the castle. It was the solemn duty of the royal family to see that each and every issue was resolved before the sun had set. Unfortunately some of the time it seemed like half of the population of Camelot showed up, and there were only so many times a prince could listen to the indignant cry of: "But it was _my_ chicken!"

As the last red rays of the sun began to fade from the stain-glass windows the final aggrieved citizen approached the throne. She was perhaps fifteen and would have been pretty, if it were not for the scars crisscrossing her once delicate features or the way her hair was cut close to her scalp, like a boys. She bowed low to Arthur (Uther having retired to his chambers a few hours ago) and spoke in a voice that held a confidence beyond her years.

"Prince Arthur, I have come seeking assistance for my people. We have lived in the outer regions of Camelot for many generations however now we face death if we do not abandon our homes and flee the lands we have tended for decades." Her voice was strong and Arthur only heard the grief that threatened to break through her mask of composure because he was listening for it.

"You are under attack? By bandits?" the prince had expected another chicken story but there was genuine fear in the girl's eyes, fear for the fate of the people she loved, fear that she would be sent home empty handed crushing the hopes of her friends and family the moment she returned alone.

"No my lord, we face nightly bombardment by a pack of wyvern sire, they have already destroyed most of our crop and we found almost all of our livestock reduced to carcases. The people fear that they will be next. Camelot is our only hope for survival." It was worse than either the prince or Merlin could ever have imagined the only place on record to house wyvern was the perilous lands. If they were migrating it could spell untold danger to the entire kingdom.

"Wyvern? This cannot be allowed to continue. I myself will go to your village with some knights, I am certain we will have them under control. In the meantime you are welcome to any food the stores have to spare to replenish-" he stopped as she no longer looked hopeful, or even fearful, but apologetic.

"My apologies sire, it is not the help of the knights of Camelot that I have been asked to seek. I search for Emrys," there were only three people present in the room, it was difficult therefore not to notice the way in which Merlin stiffened at that one word, his eyes went wide as he realised Arthur had seen his reaction and he tried to return his attention to the girl as though nothing had happened. "There is rumour that he resides in this great city is this not true?"

"I have never heard of the name Emrys or anyone who goes by it. May I ask what help this man can give that I cannot?" his anger was understandable she was, however unwittingly, questioning the skill not only of his men but of the prince himself, in favour of a man whose name he had never even heard before.

"The rumour states that he is the last dragon lord sir." She was looking directly at Merlin now, did she know? "If it were possible to protect the village from these creatures permanently then he would be the one to do it."

Arthur's expression changed from angry to sympathetic almost instantaneously _she must be thinking of Balinor _"I'm sorry miss but I fear that the last dragon lord died almost two years ago."

She bowed her head, but not in grief, she seemed to be choosing the words that would be least insulting to Arthur. "I am sorry my lord but I believe you are mistaken. It is well known that Balinor died in Cendred's kingdom, however, we were recently made aware that his son yet lives and resides here in Camelot." Her voice was hesitant, it was clear that she did not wish to anger the prince again.

Arthur was left silenced by this revelation. _Balinor had a son. Did he know his father had died? Did he even know who his father was?_ Something was clamouring at the back of his mind, a thought long ago unfinished and abandoned, dismissed with a laugh for its impossibility, was demanding his attention. He ignored it, instead returning his attention to the girl. "I am sorry that you do not feel that my men can help you but I have _never_ heard that name before if you would like some assistance finding him then-"

"There will be no need for that my lord." her voice had regained its earlier confidence. Arthur looked on in shock, never before had a peasant interrupted him, well except Merlin, but he didn't count. She raised her eyes to meet Merlin's once more and sent a message that only he would hear. _Please forgive me_. "He is standing in this room sire."

There were only three people present in this room, one was a girl, one was Arthur himself, and the other- he tried to catch Merlin gaze, but the servant was looking anywhere but. The thought finally broke through in to his conscience mind. It _couldn't be_, but then that would explain so much. But it _could not be. _Not _Merlin._

**So a bit short on the reaction side with this one, and I think I personally preferred the first one but that's my opinion. What's yours?**


	3. Inaccurate assumptions

**Ok so my email is still a day behind so (seriously has anyone had this problem/ knows how to fix it?) so here are the review replies:**

_**Rylie:**_ Good point I could argue that in Arthur's mind they're one and the same but that would just be a terrible excuse for not re-reading properly.

_**FreakShowonLegs:**_ Really glad you enjoyed it. Err…How did you guess?

_**ShadeFighting300:**_ I might consider continuing it but I don't really know how to, if you've got any ideas let me know. I don't think its lack of courage, I just don't think he ever quite gets round to it.

_**aloha94:**_ I might expand it but I'm really bad at writing plots, I tend to go down an irrelevant tangent and never quite make it back.

_**orangeLexi: **_yeah, its one of the more likely possibilities

_**momo9momo: **_I've just re-read it (probably should have done that before I published) and it is a bit abrupt sorry about that.

_**catwomanswrath: **_well that was my intention

_**Heather29010:**_ Thank you soo much, hope you like this one just as much

_**asdf: **_i don't know I find it difficult to write plots and even harder to follow them.

_**writing-at-random:**_ now you're the third person to suggest that I might consider it, if you've got any ideas for a plot they would be very welcome.

_**Jissai:**_I know, I take special evening classes in how to be as evil as possible without actually smirking.

_**Chava: **_thanks for the input its always really good to know where I'm going wrong.

**And finally a massive thanks to EVERYONE who has alerted/favourited this**

It was not unusual for Merlin to be practicing a new spell, neither was it unheard of for Arthur to enter Gaius' chambers. What was out of the ordinary however, was the prince of Camelot entering a room in a kingdom where magic was only practiced on pain of death, and witnessing his own manservant surrounded by brilliant blue flames.

The door slammed, Merlin jumped losing the fine control he had been demonstrating a split second earlier and allowing the fire to strike out in a random direction. Unfortunately that direction was towards Arthur.

He managed to conjure a barrier moments before the prince was incinerated. "Sorry sire!" the manservant managed to say. "Lost control of the waveform there won't happen again, I think I've managed to work out how to prevent the fluctuations in the plasma field. The rabbits didn't help after all."

His royal highness just gaped.

"Sire? Are you okay sire? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Arthur finally found his voice. "Y-you-you have m-magic Merlin." it was hard to say if it was a question or if he was just stating the obvious.

"Err… yes sire of course."

"But you can't you're _Merlin_ for pities sake. _You _can't be practicing magic!"

It was Merlin's turn to look confused "you mean you don't know? Oh. Err this could be awkward. Sorry, I just assumed you'd have worked it out by now."

"But, MAGIC!" Arthur was still standing with his mouth slightly open. Maybe if he stayed like that long enough it would stick…

"I'm guessing you hadn't then. Okay, err, I suppose you deserve an explanation." It was Merlin's turn to gape now as he struggled to find the right words.

To anyone listening at the door (which would be unfortunate for not only our favourite warlock but HRH the prince as well) the room might as well have been deserted such was the silence that enveloped the two men. It lingered between them for longer than was strictly necessary before returning to whatever deep pit of the castle it had come from when Merlin finally managed to find his voice.

"You really didn't know?"

"NO!"

"Oh." Merlin actually started to look worried at this point. "It's just that I've performed magic right in front of you so many times I just assumed you'd have worked it out by now"

"You've performed magic in front of me before?" The prince's eyebrows were doing a remarkable impression of Gaius' (in that they were no longer visible beneath his sandy fringe).

"Err yeah." Merlin said quickly as though hoping to skate over the subject and preferably reduce the number of times fire or axes were mentioned. "You _really _didn't notice?"

"No." Arthur's eyebrows were edging back to normal levels.

"I thought, well after the Dragon attacked. I mean there was no way the wound you dealt was fatal. How is a _massive _dragon going to die from having a couple of scales knocked off? And where exactly did you think the body went?" **(AN: sorry this wasn't meant to be part of it, it's more my personal rant as to why the hell they made Arthur so thick in that episode.) **"Come on, massive dragon corpses do not just vanish into thin air."

"I-I just thought that- You _told_ me that-"

"Well I wasn't just going to come out and say 'hi Arthur I'm a dragon lord deal with it' was I?"

"You're a dragon lord as well?"

"Yeah deal with it."

There was another awkward pause. Neither could look the other fully in the eye, on one side of the coin Arthur was still reeling from finding out that what was probably the best friend he ever had was a sorcerer _and_ a dragon lord, whilst on the other side Merlin was still trying to digest just how thick his master really was.

Finally Arthur broke the silence with a crude attempt at a subject change.

"Merlin, did you say something about rabbits?"

"Err… yes, Gaius thought that if I concentrated on something completely unrelated – like rabbits – I might be able to use magic subconsciously whilst, well… whilst being conscious of using it."

"Merlin that did not make any sense."

"I know sire. It was Gaius' idea."

(Awkward pause. Subject change mk.2)

"Merlin do you realise you have no eyebrows?" during one of the many attempts Merlin had made on the fire spell he had somehow misplaced his eyebrows in the heat.

"Yes sire."

After the seventh failed attempt at a subject change Arthur muttered something about training and almost ran out of the room. Merlin merely sighed and re-conjured the indigo flames. Perhaps muttering something about princes that wouldn't be able to see a bard door if they were sat on the latch.

**This didn't turn out quite as I expected but I quite like it anyway.**

**BTW** **I have no idea what Merlin was talking about with the 'waveform' stuff, it doesn't technically make sense. It is in fact, just a couple of complicated sounding sentences to make Merlin sound a bit clever. **

**Reviews are very welcome.**


	4. In the heat of battle

**Ok I wrote this on my phone and then emailed it to my computer so please forgive any spelling mistakes, I have checked through it but you never know. This was longer than I thought it was going to be (it took 4 emails) but oh well, some of the others were shorter than I meant so all in all it balances out. BTW this is not meant to be humour, if you find it funny that's your problem.**

**Review replies:**

_**WitchyWeasel: **_Well we can't love a show without being able to poke a few holes. Glad to know I'm not the only one having problems.

_**PiperX:**_ Hope you like the rest as much XD

_**ShadeFighting300:**_ Yes they just make him a little bit too accepting of everything Merlin says it just gets annoying that he never questions anything.

_**writing-at-random:**_ It is unfortunately a load of gibberish.

_**sheeponthemoon: **_I was almost going to take that it out as well because it seemed a bit OOC. Glad I left it in now.

_**aloha94:**_ yes I've just accepted that I'm going to have to nod and go along with it and then write about it later in fanfiction

_**anonymous: **_well I said that some would be more plausible than others, hope you enjoys the rest.

_**Crazycatz9:**_ I know but in all fairness so does the show in places.

It should have been quiet. The silence of the night only broken by the scurrying of animals.

It should have been still. The only movement the swaying of the trees as the wind tugged at their branches.

But it was neither still nor silent. A battle raged in the once peaceful clearing.

Arthur fought with the determination that he always possessed in the heat of battle bit he knew that it was already lost. Even the skill and precision of the knights of Camelot was all but useless when they were outnumbered twenty to one. He saw Leon duck barley in time to avoid the clumsy blow of his opponent. Lancelot was blocking another's sword, arms shaking with the effort, how long had the fight been raging for? An hour? Four? Even Percival was beginning to sag under the strain and Merlin- where the hell was that useless excuse of a servant?

They were losing; there was no possibility of seeing the dawn. All exits had been cut off. The few men that had not fallen were exhausted and Merlin had picked the worst possible time to go missing. The only thing that could make the situation worse would be if a sorcerer showed up.

A bright ball of flame sored over their heads.

"LOOK OUT!" it took Arthur a second to realise that it was his voice that had cried out, as the words left his lips the knights tried to find some sort of shelter even whilst blocking the never ending blows of their enemies.

And then the ground cleared. The soldiers they were being slaughtered by took off leaving a handful of men to keep Camelot's finest in check.

And then Arthur saw why. A cloaked figure had materialised in the centre of the newly emptied clearing. Even Arthur who had been conditioned from birth to deny magic in all forms would admit that an unimaginable degree of power radiated from the figure. And then it spoke.

"Arthur Pendragon your death has been demanded for the crimes you and your father have committed against magic." He felt a knife pressed to his throat, some of the soldiers who had not left were holding him down, out of the corner of his eye he could see Percival and Lancelot similarly retrained

"You can't do this!" Gwain's voice cried out from somewhere behind Arthur, it was good to know that the rogue was still alive.

"I think you will find that I can. Your prince stands defenceless. There is nothing you can do to stop me."

"He is not defenceless." the one voice no one had expected to hear echoed through the clearing. A whisper barely audibly above the thump-thump of Arthur's heart. It was difficult to tell where Merlin was standing, _if he even _was_ standing,_ voiced a treacherous thought at the  
back of Arthur's mind.

The sorcerer was smiling now, certain of his own abilities. "And who stands as his protector? Some farm hand whose read a couple of spells? Do you really think you can defeat me?" his smile grew as he came to a realisation. "Wait, you're the prince's servant aren't you? You can't even lift a sword without cutting yourself." he gave a shout of laughter which was cut short as Merlin walked into the clearing.

He was standing directly in front of Arthur with only the sorcerer between them, and yet the prince could hardly recognise him. Gone was the grinning idiot who threw casual insults at every turn. The man who stood before him wore the grim expression Arthur had seen on battle weary soldiers who had seen far, far too much in their short lifetimes.

"You have no idea what i am capable of." _Arthur please forgive me_. He heard the words and yet he had not seen Merlin's mouth move. _forgive him. Forgive him for what?_ And then it was clear as the sorcerer flicked a fire spell at Merlin in the irritated fashion another might swat a fly, a shield flew up around the boy, a shimmering sphere of light that stopped the flames in their tracks, and yet Merlin had not said a word.

Was someone else protecting him as he caused a distraction? If Merlin knew a sorcerer he should had shared the information with Arthur. Did the idiot really think he could seek the help of someone who practiced magic and come out unscathed? But who knew he was such a good actor, if Arthur had not known Merlin's true character he might have believed that the boy did indeed have magic.

"You should know whom you fight. You threaten to kill a man who has been under my protection for four years-"

"And who are you to think you can save his sorry hide?"

It was Merlin's turn to laugh as he strode forward so that he was standing barely a meter away from the cloaked figure.

"My name is Emrys."

The change in the man's demeanour was almost comical, from cocky and self-assured to fearful in a fraction of a second. But he mastered his expression in a matter of moments.

"I must still perform my duty no matter what myths you have been reading." he was trying to sound as confidant as he had been just moments earlier as though he did not believe what Merlin, or should it be Emrys? Said but everyone could hear the tremor in his voice.

Merlin looked genuinely sorry "if that is indeed your wish then you know that I must stop you."

The tension began to build Merlin stepped away slightly from the mystery man so that he stood a good distance away. It was only as he took up a fighting stance that the first blow was struck. A glowing ball of violet light soared directly for Arthur's chest. And Arthur, Still captive in the arms of three of the sorcerer's minions was powerless to prevent the impact. But it never came. Merlin raised his hand and spoke words the prince had no hope of recognising. There was a ripple in the air as some unknown force reached out and held the sphere motionless.

"You should not have done that." there was anger in Merlin's voice now, beyond any annoyance Arthur might have witnessed after he had given the boy one too many chores. This was the sort of anger that would, had it been wielded by more influential men, cause wars that might last lifetimes. And yet it was exhibited by Merlin and what could he do with it? _But he stopped the spell. He has magic_. The words reverberated inside his skull but Arthur refused to acknowledge their meaning. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he nearly missed the sphere of purple light start to pulse and grow brighter until the only ones not forced to close their eyes was Merlin and the sorcerer. _Both sorcerers_.

When the light was near intolerably even through his closed lids Arthur sensed a shift in its position. There was a brief scream of pain before the light went out. Arthur desperately tried to blink the after image away so he could judge how badly Merlin was hurt. But of course Merlin was undamaged. In fact he stood tall before what had once been the living body of the sorcerer. As he turned around to meet Arthur's livid gaze his shoulders slumped and his eyes fell to the floor. And when he spoke his voice held none of its usual joy of light-heartedness.

"Please forgive me."

**The final reveal will be uploaded tomorrow, can't promise a time though. **


	5. In a fit of rage

**So I read through the one I was going to post today. It was dreadful. Also a couple of people asked for one with more of Arthur reaction so I basically wrote a whole new one. Its very short on the reveal side but I think you can fill in the blanks. I wanted to do another humour one but I just wasn't in the mood please forgive me.**

**Review replies:**

_**NekomataHanyou:**_ I hope so, i really want to see Merlin in a proper magical fight.

_**Rylie:**_ Blimey your keen. Sorry it was so late I had a really busy day at school, I don't think I got home till about half six, and then my brother was home so I had to be nice to him etc. etc. Irked is a _very _good word, what would be good was if Morgana said "are you irked by my smirk?" This is pretty much all reaction so enjoy.

_**Recordatio001:**_ thank you so much. I don't think I really want to know what Merlin did either.

_**Jissai:**_ feel free

_**Jissai **_(again)_**:**_ I know but I figured Arthur would be in a state of denial, he always has been in the past.

_**writing-at-random**_: sorry I meant what Merlin was saying was gibberish. I've never written a battle scene before I'm glad to know it went down well.

_**Dawn that Shines:**_ I think they're my favourites as well. I would do more but its hard to think of more scenarios without repeating stuff.

_**PiperX:**_ this is almost all reaction so I hope you enjoy.

_**FreakShowonLegs:**_ I know, Arthur really need to learn to question some of the 'coincidences' that happen around Merlin.

_**FreakShowonLegs **_(again)_**:**_ yes it's probably the most likely of my scenarios. I really want to see a dramatic showdown in series 4.

**I feel kinda sad that this is the last one I hope you all enjoy it. BTW the bits in **_italics_** are flashbacks. I tried a different sort of format with this one, please let me know what you think. **

Arthur leaned back so his head rested against the cool stone wall. It was probably the only thing that still made sense at the moment. Stone never changed, the walls of Camelot had always surrounded and sheltered him and even now his world had been torn apart the still stood tall. If only he could say the same for everything else.

"Show me." It was the last thing Merlin had expected Arthur to say, they had sat in silence in a disused and dusty corridor for perhaps half an hour after Arthur had found him, Merlin had expected screaming and shouting but the earlier anger each party had shown had subsided.

"_Because I have MAGIC Arthur!" he froze the moment the words fell from his lips. He had been so angry a moment before, the rage threatening to consume him, it was not as if it was over anything specific, there had been one chore too many, one life he had failed to save, one more creature that was attacking Camelot for no better reason than it was there. And in that moment he had snapped._

Slowly Merlin extended his hand, palm upwards. He whispered words in a language that Arthur had associated with evil and corruption for almost twenty years and the prince could not help but reach for the handle of a sword he was not even carrying.

A small ball of blue-sliver light flickered into life. Arthur had almost expected an explosion or an assassination attempt. Something criminal, worthy of execution, but this was harmless. It was almost akin to the guiding light he had seen in the cave of the Mortaeus Flower. He wanted a reason to hate Merlin, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Merlin had stood by him through thick and thin. He had shown a loyalty that he expected only from his most trusted knights. And yet he had broken the most fundamental rule of Camelot.

_Arthur stood frozen to the spot. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Merlin had run out of the room, probably fearing for his life. But even if he had wanted to kill the boy Arthur was unable even to lift his arm to strike a blow. It was several minutes before he was finally able to run after Merlin, and almost an hour before he had found him._

"Why?" of all the questions Arthur had this was the only one he could form. "Why did you decide to learn magic?"

Merlin let out a mirthless laugh "why did you decide to become a prince?" Arthur just stared confused. "I was born with magic" Merlin explained "there were times when I was younger that I prayed to the Gods that I would wake up and be normal, but they had already decided my _destiny_" he spat out the word as though it tasted bitter on his tongue, Arthur could hardly blame him, he had enough trouble fulfilling his own pre-determined path.

_He raced round the corner and almost tripped up over a pile of clothes that had been left against the wall. Wait. It wasn't clothes, Merlin was sat huddled against the stone his knees drawn up in front of him, his head tilted back. Tear tracks glistened against his pale skin but their source had dried up. As he recognised the prince the hapless manservant tensed as though in anticipation of a punch, but none came. Now that he was face to face with the man who, had he been asked the day before, he would have said was his first true friend, he could not bring himself to hurt him._

_Instead he slid down the wall to sit beside Merlin, not quite able to meet his eye, but then again he had not called for the guards. Instead he sat in silence, still unable to speak of what was perhaps the most devastating revelation he had ever been witness to._

"What will you do?" it was the query that had plagued Merlin for the past four years. What would Arthur do when he found out, because it was always inevitable that he would find out, whether it was in the heat of battle, from a druid that knew his identity, from walking in on him practicing or as it happens, from his own mouth, screamed out in the heat of the moment. Arthur was always going to find out.

"I don't know" it was an honest reply. Merlin nodded, he knew how difficult the decision must be, to choose between the laws he has believed in for over twenty years, or the life of a friend. Whatever it was to be, his decision would change his life forever. "I just don't know."

**And there it is. Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, alerting and favouriting. You are all truly beautiful and I love you all. **


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